Version 1
: Received: 31 January 2024 / Approved: 31 January 2024 / Online: 31 January 2024 (14:08:32 CET)
How to cite:
Ljubisavljevic, S.; Todorovic, S.; Damjanovic, R. Main Clinical Characteristics of Medication Overuse Headache. Preprints2024, 2024012232. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2232.v1
Ljubisavljevic, S.; Todorovic, S.; Damjanovic, R. Main Clinical Characteristics of Medication Overuse Headache. Preprints 2024, 2024012232. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2232.v1
Ljubisavljevic, S.; Todorovic, S.; Damjanovic, R. Main Clinical Characteristics of Medication Overuse Headache. Preprints2024, 2024012232. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2232.v1
APA Style
Ljubisavljevic, S., Todorovic, S., & Damjanovic, R. (2024). Main Clinical Characteristics of Medication Overuse Headache. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2232.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ljubisavljevic, S., Stefan Todorovic and Radomir Damjanovic. 2024 "Main Clinical Characteristics of Medication Overuse Headache" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202401.2232.v1
Abstract
Introduction: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache that occurs 15 or more days per month in patients with preexisting headache. This can result from the excessive (10 or 15 days/month) use of drugs for acute or symptomatic headache therapy.
Aim: To examine the relationships between demographic parameters, illnesses and habits of life, clinical type and length of previous headache and MOH and clinical features of MOH.
Materials and methods: This study was conducted at the Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Niš, and included 83 patients (11 men and 72 women) who were first diagnosed with MOH. The mean age of the patients in the study cohort was 40.5 ± 11.6 years. The study was performed in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki after informed consent was obtained from each participant in the study. The study was approved by the local ethics committee.
Results: In the study cohort, there were more women (86.7%), nonsmokers (59%), those who did not consume alcohol (95.2%), those who were physically inactive (90.4%), those who consumed caffeinated beverages (89.2%), and those with diseases of the cardiovascular (12%) or osseous joint system (10.8%). MOH was most commonly generated by chronic migraine (64%). The duration of MOH until diagnosis was 5.1 ± 5.5 years. The following MOH characteristics were observed: moderate pain (45.8%), bilateral localization (56.6%), temporal presentation (65.1%), and neck tightness (81.9%). Common (41%) and combination analgesics (48.2%) were used most frequently, 15 to 25 days per month. The impact of MOH on daily life was assessed as significant (HIT - 65.4 ± 5.5), correlating with the duration of earlier chronic headaches (r = 0.327, p = 0.003).
Conclusion: MOH can be generated by the transformation of a previous chronic headache due to overuse of analgesic therapy. The MOH significantly affects all aspects of a patient's life. MOH can be prevented by educating patients by limiting the use of analgesic therapy, especially in the at-risk group (middle-aged women with chronic migraines).
Keywords
medication-overuse headache
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Medicine and Pharmacology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
